He signed my brother Cam and me up for all of our sports, taught us how to play baseball, and coached us on in our early years--and from there, through life.
He passed away in 2014.
Tough love, that's what you might call it.
I called it learning from a hard-nosed, straight from the School of the Hard Knocks, wise old man.
If you learn from a person like this, you know it's not always an easy road.
This man was a firm believer that if you fell, you should get right back up. He believed that excuses are for losers, and that everyone should root for the underdog.
No, this old fella didn't save the world, have a big corporate job, or ever make a million dollars. I'm not even sure this man graduated from high school.
This man believed in family and taught me the values of hard work and determination. He taught me to dream and to never give up.
This man is the leader of my life because at a time in my adolescent years, a time I could have gone any direction on the road of life, he taught me the single most important element of success...he taught me to believe in myself.
This man is my role model. He is the greatest man I know.
My name is Chris McCoy and the leader of my life is my grandpa Jack.
* Above written October 2002, my freshmen year at the University of Washington in Jack Rhodes' Principles of Selling course.
Before my grandpa passed on in November 2014, we recorded his life story together.
Experiencing this with him inspired me to launch a new project under Data4America called Lifemap--history in 100 characters or less.
I'll share more about Lifemap next time.
Published by Data4America.org.